On the afternoon of Friday, October 25th, 2002, twelve-year-old Jennifer Liston returned home from school to the family residence on Ives Crescent in Victor Harbor, South Australia. What she discovered would haunt her for the rest of her life: her mother, forty-six-year-old Bernadette Liston, lying dead on the floor in a scene of extreme violence.
Bernadette had been brutally murdered in what police described as a savage and frenzied attack. She suffered multiple forms of trauma, including blunt force injuries (reportedly from being bashed with the door of a safe), numerous stab wounds, gunshot wounds to the head and back, and her throat had been cut. The assault took place inside the home she shared with her de facto partner and daughter in the coastal town south of Adelaide.
Bernadette Liston lived in Victor Harbor with her partner, Francis “Frankie” Lorraine Marshall, and their daughter Jennifer. The couple had been in a relationship since the mid-1990s, having met when their sons were receiving treatment for disabilities following near-drowning incidents. They later had a child together using Marshall’s brother as a sperm donor.
On the morning of October 25th, 2002, Bernadette was last seen alive at the home. Marshall and another person reportedly left the residence around nine thirty a.m., leaving Bernadette alone. Sometime during the day, the fatal attack occurred. Jennifer found her mother’s body shortly after three thirty p.m. upon returning from school. The young girl ran outside screaming for help.
Police focused on Bernadette’s partner, Frankie Marshall. Prosecutors alleged a love triangle motive: Bernadette had been in a sexual relationship with Marshall’s brother and was planning to leave Marshall for him. A letter Bernadette wrote to her sister just days before her death expressed that she could “survive” the breakdown of her relationship with Marshall.
Marshall was charged and stood trial in the South Australian Supreme Court in 2010. The prosecution presented a circumstantial case, noting bloody footprints suggesting the killer knew the layout of the home (including the location of a kitchen knife block), Marshall’s lack of alibi, and strong motive. However, the defense argued the evidence amounted to suspicion and speculation rather than proof.
In August 2010, Justice Margaret Nyland acquitted Marshall, ruling that she could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of her guilt. The judge noted it was possible Bernadette had interrupted a burglar. Marshall was released, and the case remained unsolved.
Despite the acquittal, South Australian Police have continued to treat the case as active. Major Crime detectives reviewed the investigation, but as of later public appeals, no other suspects had been identified. Police have long suspected that Bernadette knew her killer.
More than two decades later, Bernadette Liston’s killing stands as one of South Australia’s most disturbing unsolved homicides. A $200,000 reward is still on offer for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible.
Crime Immemorial 